Research and Training Environment

Oxford provides world-class research facilities, outstanding supervision and a comprehensive, yet flexible training programme.

World-class research facilities

  • The University of Oxford has a remarkable track record in biomedical research, consistently ranking in the top 5 institutions in the world. Indeed, Oxford has again been ranked the top University in the world in medical and health-related sciences by Times Higher Education.
  • Oxford attracts more research funding than any other UK University, enabling it to provide outstanding laboratories equipped with the latest technology so that students can perform cutting edge research.
  • While Oxford has many beautiful old buildings, an extensive building programme over the past decade has provided spacious and well-equipped new laboratories with prize-winning designs.

Outstanding supervision

Here at Oxford we pride ourselves on ensuring that students are taught and supervised by our world class academic staff, no matter how distinguished or busy. This is possible because we carefully manage student numbers and have an unusually high ratio of academic staff to students. Supervisors may not supervise more than 6 students and all students also have a College advisor, who can provide fully independent advice and support.

A comprehensive, flexible training programme

We recognise that, while all graduate students require formal training, this training needs to be matched to the student’s background, their research project, and their future career plans. The Graduate School provides a comprehensive, flexible training programme, where course are run on a regular basis. Students, with the help of their supervisors, select courses that are appropriate for them and attend these courses when convenient.

The training provided includes:

  • General and specific research skills (e.g. statistics, computational biology, microscopy, proteomics)
  • Advanced academic courses by leading scientists to provide an up-to-date overview of your area of research
  • Seminars by world class scientists from around the world, where you can meet them and hear about their latest research